No charges in Haywood County inmate's death

Published: Friday, December 12, 2008 at 7:55 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 12, 2008 at 7:56 a.m.

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A prosecutor says there will be no charges in the death of a Haywood County man who died after a struggle with sheriff's deputies in western North Carolina earlier this year.

District Attorney Michael Bonfoey says a State Bureau of Investigation review of the death of 26-year-old Charles Benjamin Patterson of Clyde shows he overdosed on methamphetamines.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Friday that a preliminary autopsy report last month showed Patterson had a high level of the drug in his blood when he died July 4.

Patterson fought with officers a day earlier outside a home in Clyde. Officers had responded to a report that a man was screaming and cursing in a neighbor's yard. An incident report states officers used pepper spray and hit Patterson four times to subdue him.

<p>WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP)  A prosecutor says there will be no charges in the death of a Haywood County man who died after a struggle with sheriff's deputies in western North Carolina earlier this year.</p><p>District Attorney Michael Bonfoey says a State Bureau of Investigation review of the death of 26-year-old Charles Benjamin Patterson of Clyde shows he overdosed on methamphetamines.</p><p>The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Friday that a preliminary autopsy report last month showed Patterson had a high level of the drug in his blood when he died July 4.</p><p>Patterson fought with officers a day earlier outside a home in Clyde. Officers had responded to a report that a man was screaming and cursing in a neighbor's yard. An incident report states officers used pepper spray and hit Patterson four times to subdue him.</p>